Decrepit as she was, she could not possibly have sent any reinforcements to the Philippines. Besides the Filipinos would have "eaten them up." General Merritt's suggestion to "hold them as England does her colonies" was also sensible. In fact that was the only thoroughly honest thing to have done, if we were going to take them at all. England never acts the hypocrite with her colonies. She makes them behave. She does not let native people preach sedition in native newspapers, because of "sentimental bosh" about freedom of the press, until the whole country becomes a smouldering hot-bed of sedition. She has blown offending natives from the cannon's mouth, when deemed necessary to cure them and their country of the desire for independence. If we are going to have colonies at all, we ought to govern them with the upright downright ruthless honesty of the British. It is more merciful in the long run. But we ought not to have colonies at all. For if there is one thing this republic stands for, above all other things, it is the righteousness of aversion to a foreign yoke. In their telegram of October 7th, [145] the Peace Commissioners, now squarely confronted with the question of forcible annexation, begin to let the Administration down easy. They say: General Anderson in correspondence with Aguinaldo in June and July seemed to treat him and his forces as allies and native authorities, but subsequently changed his tone. Merritt and Dewey both kept clear of any compromising communications.